


Pilot

by Kale-y (PechoraFlow)



Series: Promptober 2020 [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: And the water tribes hit back so hard that the fire nation said sorry and it didn't do anything, Azula isn't crazy, Badass Katara (Avatar), But she's still competitive and a little mean, Everything Changed When The Fire Nation Attacked, Gen, I made Ozai a three-dimensional character, Katara is actually only in this at the end, My First Work in This Fandom, POV Zuko (Avatar), Precious Aang (Avatar), Traumatized Sokka, Water Tribes are Evil, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, as always rated T for swearing, okay I think that's enough for now, reverse au, sry, that never changes, that's it that's the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26829421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PechoraFlow/pseuds/Kale-y
Summary: Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.The Water Tribes united after centuries of isolation, and my ancestors fought to crush the Fire Nation before they could do any more harm to the world. The Water Tribes enforced peace around the world, keeping the traitorous ashmakers under their thumbs and scattering the airbenders.I, Princess Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, will find the heirs of the fire nation throne and kill them, ending their futile little resistance group and establishing peace for generations.---Zuko has lived his whole life in secret, training with Azula for the day they would be required to join the war effort with their father. He expected an eventual coronation and a lifetime spent on the battlefield; he didn't expect to stumble upon an untrained Avatar.Now, it's up to him and Azula to get Aang to a waterbending teacher. But are there any good waterbenders left in the world?---Prompt: Water/Fire
Relationships: Aang & Azula (Avatar), Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar)
Series: Promptober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947931
Comments: 7
Kudos: 53





	Pilot

Zuko knew that, as someone grew older, the rules for behavior changed. Toddlers were given a lot of patience as they learned to be respectful, but if a teenager were to speak out of turn, the social consequences were swift and harsh. However, one rule never changed.

Do not touch the water.

This was somewhat of a difficult rule to follow, as he lived on an island in the middle of the fucking _ocean_ , but it was the one rule that could bring terror into his mother’s eyes, if broken. He could still remember the look on her face when he ventured into the ocean as a child, could still remember how tightly his mother had held him when she seized him and practically threw their bodies back onto the safety of the beach. She had held him close that night, no matter how much he squirmed or complained.

So, he didn't touch the water, and - despite all of her taunting and teasing - neither did his sister, Azula.

He had wanted to, many times. A year ago, all of the other teenagers had been taken off the island, and he had wanted to chase after them, running into the riptide. For his mother's sake, he had stayed on the land with everyone else. After all, he was familiar with all of the young men and women leaving in a mass exodus. This happened every five years, like clockwork. They had volunteered for the war effort, they always said, but as Zuko grew older, he had learned that one of the rules for teenagers was that they must not be teenagers for long.

His village was populated almost entirely by women and children, with him and his sister being the exceptions. The adult men had been off fighting for ages, perhaps ever since the war started a hundred years ago. Naturally, this meant that the town was full of gossip, and Zuko was never ashamed to eavesdrop.

There were still days where older mothers spoke to the younger ones about the great invasion, when the Water Tribe forces had invaded and killed an entire island's population of young men and women. Fearing that the same treatment would come to the other islands, Fire Lord Azulon ordered that teenagers would be drafted for military training, so that they might at least be able to protect their villages.

Only some returned to their homes. Most went off to war for five years, then returned for a year-long homecoming celebration, to honor the sacrifice of their youth. After the celebration, the vast majority chose to return to the war, having seen the tragedy that had befallen other villages. No one wanted the war to come to their own home.

But Zuko and Azula were told to stay. Stay, and train with their teachers, Master Piandao, who visited in the wintertime, and Lo and Li, who visited every summer for a few months' worth of training.

And train they did. Sunup to sundown, they trained with every manner of weapon - from firebending, to swordplay, to javelins, to archery... They trained with bare hands, some days, or they focused on traversing terrain and endurance. They were better trained than any soldier their age; they had to be, after what happened to Lu Ten...

They had to be ready.

In early spring, however, when the air was warming up and the rain came more often than not, there was little else to do but help out in the village.

* * *

Zuko woke to the sound of rain pounding against the thin roof of his house. The smell of cool, wet earth filled the air, soothing his senses.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes once more. He preferred sunlight, of course, but the rain brought with it a calming tranquility... So long as he didn't think about how much water there was on the island, now.

Okay. _That's_ a pleasant thought.

The tranquility gone, Zuko pushed back the covers and stood. On a rainy day like this one, he had to go around the house and check for leaks, then make sure the rainwater collectors were in shape, then help Azula with the laundry, and then check to make sure nothing else needed to be done before going to train.

Yet another long day on Cinder Island.

There was a sharp knock at his door, and before he could answer, the door slid open, revealing Azula herself, already dressed for the day. She raised an eyebrow at him. "What's the matter, Zuzu? Don't tell me you're slipping."

Zuko resisted the urge to roll his eyes - it wasn't very effective with his scar, anyways. "I was just meditating.”

Azula made a face, crossing her arms. "Meditating? In this weather? I don't think so. There's no way anyone can focus with that much water around.”

"Well, maybe _you_ can't," Zuko teased. Azula's expression soured, as predicted. "Oh, don't give me that look. I'm just teasing."

"I can meditate anytime you can," Azula said.

"I know."

"I've always been better at meditation than you, anyway."

"I know."

Azula gave him a once-over, then said, "Mother has given us the day off."

If Zuko hadn't been awake before, he certainly was now. "What?"

"Lee's mother is feeling under the weather," Azula said, smirking and glancing over her fingernails. "She asked Mother to help watch over her children for the day. You know what that means."

She shot him a devilish grin, and he grimaced. "More training."

* * *

The rain had made the mountainside slick and dangerous. A thin layer of water rested on the ground and clung to the trees, and the water that had run down from the mountain was quickly replaced by the rain falling from the storm clouds overhead.

With his dual dao on his back, Zuko dashed up the mountain, footwork somewhat sloppier than it should be. Azula was just ahead, single sword on her back along with her atlatl and quiver of darts. Zuko noted with familiar bitterness that she was handling the terrain better than he was, keeping her weight shifting so that she rarely slid, despite the slick surface of the ground.

There was a faint rumble of thunder somewhere in the cloudy canopy above them and the two of them slowed to a stop, wary. Zuko looked up. The sky was dark - if there was going to be lightning, there was sure to be a lot of it.

Azula glanced back to Zuko, shifting the weight of her quiver. "Perhaps the mountaintop is not the best place to practice, today."

Zuko nodded, imagining trying to firebend (in the rain, for one) on the open platform at the top of the mountain, practically daring the lightning to strike them. A shock of terror gripped his heart, making it stutter (as it often did). "We could-”

A louder boom of thunder struck, and the tension in the siblings' shoulders increased.

"Let's find a cave to wait it out," Zuko suggested.

* * *

The two of them knew every inch of Cinder Island - from the various paths around the area to the trees themselves, they could hardly be more familiar with their surroundings.

They made it to the caves in almost record time, ducking in just as the next lightning strike sent shockwaves through the surrounding area. 

"Are we going to try finding some wood to make a fire?" Zuko asked.

Azula made a face. Steam was already lifting from her shoulders in lazy curls as she raised her body temperature. She could do it easily - Zuko, on the other hand, had to meditate to achieve the same effect.

Zuko sat down, cross-legged, and tried to meditate, but the sound of the pouring rain and the lightning just outside of their cave was distracting. He couldn't quite get his breathing under control, couldn't slow his heartbeat to a calm and measured pace.

"Maybe we should head further in?" Azula suggested. 

Zuko nodded and stood, brushing the dirt from his clothes and following Azula into the cave.

They turned a corner and froze.

A small, bald child, dressed in yellow and orange with blue arrow tattoos, jumped to his feet.

No, jumped isn't the right word. He was _lifted._

By the air.

"An airbender," Azula whispered.

The child brandished a long staff at them, a clear warning to stay back. "Who are you? Where are all the airbenders? And why is the Water Tribe mean all of a sudden?"

Azula snorted. “'All of a sudden'? Where have _you_ been the past ninety years?"

The airbender child actually looked a bit bashful at this. 

Zuko stepped forward, hands out in a peaceful gesture. "Ignore her. She keeps forgetting that we're supposed to _help_ anyone against the Water Tribe."

Azula rolled her eyes.

"Against-? Who are you?" the child asked.

"Oh, sorry, Zuko, here," Zuko managed, extending his hand for a handshake. "And this is my sister, Azula. We're from the village at the bottom of the mountain."

The child took his hand, shaking it almost aggressively. "Zuko! Flameo, hotman! Know any Kuzons?"

Zuko blinked. “Uh…”

"Oh! I'm Aang, by the way. I'm the Avatar," the child went on.

Zuko choked.

"Well, that's why the Water Tribe are after you," Azula said. "Now, it was nice to meet you, but-”

"You're the Avatar?" Zuko asked, his voice hushed.

Aang nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! Have been for a hundred years. Give or take."

"A hundred- You're a hundred years old?"

"Yep! I was in an iceberg. Next thing I know the Water Tribe is trying to shoot me with icicles!" Aang mimed waterbending, but he clearly had _no idea_ what he was talking about. 

Which logically led to Zuko's next question: "Do you actually know any waterbending?"

"Nope!"

Zuko finally lost his balance, falling backwards in disbelief. Aang caught him and pushed him back upwards. He grabbed Zuko's elbow, holding him upright. "Whoa! Are you okay? Did you guys get injured? Is that why you're in this cave? Wow, that'd be one heck of a coincidence-”

"You said the Water Tribe is after you?" Azula interrupted.

Zuko caught onto what she was getting at, and his heart sank. "The village. They'll think someone is hiding you."

Aang frowned. "But I'm up here. Nobody knows I'm here-”

"They won't care," Azula scoffed. "They'll kill everyone and move on."

Aang paled. "We have to stop them!" He went to go jump up onto his _giant six-legged horned monster,_ but Zuko grabbed his arm, holding him in place. "Hey-!"

"Azula, if he gets captured, then Father is fighting for nothing," Zuko said. "We need to protect him, help train him, then get him to the front lines."

Aang paled further, if that was possible. "What! No way- I can't-"

"You just need to defeat the royal family," Zuko said. "Calm down. We won't let anything bad happen to you. You're just a child."

"Well, you're just a teenager," Aang countered. 

"We've been training for our whole lives," Zuko said. "The only person better at firebending is Father, and the only one better with weapons is Piandao."

Azula laughed. "Speak for yourself. I could give both of them a run for their money."

"I...have no idea who Piandao is," Aang said.

Zuko ignored him for the moment, locking eyes with Azula. "We need to find him a waterbending teacher. Plus, what better training against waterbenders is there than fighting against actual waterbenders?"

"So we play bodyguard for him until he's fully trained, then we go to join father," Azula said, connecting the dots. "And what if Father dies? How will they be able to find you if you're traveling all over the world?"

"I'm not old enough to be crowned, anyway," Zuko said. "They'll have a regent before I am chosen - probably Zhao. They'll manage. And this is more important."

Azula opened her mouth to reply, but a distant, muffled _BOOM_ stopped their conversation in its tracks. They shared a look, then took off, running back towards the mouth of the cave.

Aang followed close behind, "What was that? Was that in your village? Maybe it was just a lightning strike-"

They reached the mouth of the cave, and Zuko felt his stomach clench. The rain had lessened into a mere mist, but water was everywhere.

And there were wooden boats in the harbor.

Spitting a curse, Zuko rushed out of the cave, followed closely by Azula and the young Avatar, who yelled, "Stay out of sight, Appa!"

The fuck was an "Appa"?

Whatever. It didn't matter. All that Zuko could think about was the Water Tribe boats. He'd remember those anywhere - the timber planks reinforced with metal, forged by Fire Nation prisoners of war… They looked exactly the same as they did the day he got his scar.

Azula quickly made her way in front of Zuko and Aang, never one to resist the chance to show off. Aang was dealing with the terrain surprisingly well, jumping from tree to tree to avoid the wet muck of the muddy ground. Zuko thought he saw Aang use airbending to dry the tree trunk before he set foot on it, proving that this kid really had mastered his own element (which was a relief - the only thing harder to find than a good waterbender was an airbending master).

They reached the base of the mountain and slowed their steps, creeping up behind one of the shops in the square. Azula held out a hand - a clear order to stay put, but Zuko peeked out anyway.

There, with their backs to the ocean, were the crown prince and princess of the Southern Water Tribe themselves. Zuko recognized them easily enough. From the way Azula stiffened, she recognized them, too.

"Who's that?" Aang hissed.

"Sokka and Katara," Zuko answered shortly.

"Oh," Aang said. "Are they friends of yours?"

"No."

"Oh."

Aang was prevented from asking another question by Katara herself, her voice carrying through the whole village. "I am Katara, daughter of Chief Hakoda. I am not here to harm you - I just want the Avatar."

The townspeople that hadn't locked themselves inside glanced at each other, surprised to hear of the Avatar's existence. A seed of guilt wormed its way into Zuko's heart. "Azula, we have to-"

"Don't move," Azula spat, eyes locked onto Katara. 

"I know he's here!" Katara yelled, moving to get closer to the villagers. Her brother stayed silent behind her, arms crossed and steely blue eyes calculating. "Nobody has to die today, Avatar Aang! I know you can hear me!"

Aang moved, but Azula grabbed him. "I said _don't move._ "

"But she's going to hurt people!" Aang protested. "I can't just-"

" _Wait,_ " Azula hissed. "She might not do anything, and you'll have turned yourself in for nothing."

Despite her own orders to wait, Azula quietly unhooked her atlatl and notched a dart. 

"If you don't reveal yourself," Katara went on, "this woman dies!" She grabbed one of the townspeople, and Zuko's breath hitched.

_Mother._

Mother was forced onto her knees, held in place by a fistful of hair. Katara moved her wrist, pulling an icicle from the misty atmosphere-

Azula launched a dart with all her might. Katara let go of Mother, hastily blocking the dart with a wall of ice - though it didn't stop completely. The sharp point nicked Katara's neck, a bead of blood trailing down her windpipe and onto the collar of her dress.

" _Move!"_ Azula ordered, pushing Aang and Zuko to the left, towards the boats. She, however, used a beam and climbed to the roof of the house they were hiding behind and disappeared. 

"Up there!" Sokka yelled. Zuko watched - odd, was Katara the only waterbender in their group? Everyone else used crossbows and boomerangs.

No, wait, that was just Sokka. Why a boomerang?

Aang tugged on Zuko's sleeve. "Hey, Zuko, can you set their ships on fire?"

Zuko blinked. "Why would I do that?"

"I can go get Appa, and we can get out of here without them following us!" Aang said. 

"And leave a squadron of Water Tribe here to slaughter my village as punishment?" Zuko pointed out.

Aang deflated. "Right. What _can_ we do?"

Zuko looked back at the Water Tribe members, all of whom were focusing their sights on Azula. They had left their ships undefended. That was the sort of arrogance Zuko could take advantage of.

"We'll burn one," Zuko said. "They'll be forced to overload their ships - it'll slow them down, but they won't leave anyone behind. You get your monster, I'll sneak onto the ship and light it on fire from the inside. They won't notice until it's too late."

Aang sent him a half-hearted glare. "Appa's not a monster. He's a friend."

"Go get your monster friend, and we'll meet back here," Zuko said.

Aang turned and ran back up the mountain, kicking up dust in his wake as he ran like the wind.

Huh. That made sense.

Zuko turned his attention back to the task at hand, sneaking to the boats and jumping over the railing of one. He avoided the oars and benches as best he could, then ducked below deck. 

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but when they did, he could make out the vague details of the lower deck. There were rows and rows of hammocks - _flammable_ hammocks. 

Zuko grinned. "Bingo."

He snapped his fingers, causing a small spark to shoot out and grab onto the sheepskin wool of some poor soul's bed. In an instant, the fire caught, spreading and growing and-

Yep, okay, time to leave.

Zuko scrambled back up the ladder, up to the main deck. Staying low, he saw that the battle was still going strong, and he slipped back over the railing like it was no problem at all. It was almost too easy-

Something sharp pressed against Zuko's throat, making him freeze.

"Lee, was it?" someone asked from behind him. Sokka.

Damn it, so he did remember.

Then again, a Fire Nation burn victim wasn't exactly common. It was ironic, that the thing meant to keep Zuko hidden and safe also made him stand out among his people. 

Zuko turned slowly, facing Sokka. "Hello, prince. Long time no see."

"You didn't cause us this much trouble last time," Sokka observed. "What changed?"

"You threatened to kill my mother just now," Zuko growled. 

Something changed in Sokka's eyes. "Oh."

"Yeah, ‘ _oh’_ ,” Zuko spat. "You may force my friends to die in a century-long war against you, you may force my people to live in fear of genocide, but you _will not_ threaten my mother and expect me to not do anything about it."

"If you would just tell us where the Avatar is-" Sokka started, but he was interrupted when his boomerang was ripped out of his hands by a strong gust of wind. Sokka jumped back, instantly alert, but he clearly didn't expect Aang to drop out of the sky and land next to Zuko.

"I've got Azula," Aang said. "Here, grab onto my shoulders."

Sokka blinked. “Avatar…”

_Shit._

"Come _on,_ Zuko, we don't have all day!" 

Sokka's jaw dropped. " _Zuko?!"_

_Fuck._

Zuko hurriedly grabbed onto Aang's shoulders, taking a second to flip off Sokka before Aang launched them both into the air. He tightened his grip, but a moment later, they were in a saddle.

_On the monster. Which apparently was able to fly, too._

Aang jumped up to sit on the beast's head. "Alrighty! Everyone thank Appa! He just saved your butts back there!"

Zuko sat down on the opposite side from Azula, who sat with her arms crossed. "Sokka knows."

"He knows what?" Azula asked.

* * *

Sokka ran up to Katara, who angrily played with a floating ball of water, turning it into ice, mist, water, and back again. "Katara, good news."

"Did you capture the Avatar?" she challenged.

Sokka shook his head, but pointed at the retreating form of the Avatar's bison. "The Avatar is traveling with Ozai's heirs. We've found them - Zuko and Azula."

Katara played with the water, looping it between her fingers. "Alright, we'll split up. You chase them down - capture them if you can, but really just keep track of them. I'll go report to Dad and...recruit some backup."

Katara turned the water into a long strip of ice, then cracked it in half. Sokka spoke up. "They won't get away. We own the oceans, and they'll be looking for a waterbending teacher. They can't help but play into our hands."

"Let's go make Daddy proud, shall we?"

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 will reveal Sokka's backstory, and also the story of how Zuko got his scar! Stay tuned...


End file.
